During a spate of piracy in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden in early 2009, which included the hijacking of two Seychellois vessels as well as several foreign vessels off the Seychelles coast, the Coast Guard arrested nine suspected Somali pirates. The accused pirates were subsequently tried in the archipelago country’s courts as part of a global effort to crack down on piracy off eastern Africa, which accounted for 214 attacked ships in 2009. In support of the international effort to stem the increase in Indian Ocean piracy, the Coast Guard opened a monitoring and rescue centre in cooperation with the International Maritime Organization. In November Seychelles agreed to allow EU forces to police against pirates in waters off Seychelles.

The country entered into a joint agreement with neighbouring Mauritius concerning the continental shelf both island countries share. The agreement ensured that both countries would retain rights to deep-sea drilling, mining, and ocean-conservation efforts.

In August former Ugandan High Court judge Frederick Egonda-Ntende was sworn in as the chief justice of the Seychelles Supreme Court. Egonda-Ntende had been tapped by Pres. James Michel for the position, following the recommendation of the Constitutional Appointments Authority, the body responsible for nominating candidates. He replaced Justice Andrew Ranjan Perera, who had retired from the post earlier in 2009. The Seychellois government also entered into an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme to improve the transparency, accountability, and efficiency of its judiciary.